Man’s body found near ‘East Y’
An investigator lifts a cloth covering a body at the scene of a murder next to El Coronado Hotel in Gallup on Tuesday. [photo by Daniel Zollinger / Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — A man was found stabbed to death Tuesday evening in an undeveloped lot between the Payday Loan and the Coronado Motel on east U.S. Highway 66.

The man lay lifeless and covered by a white sheet that blew on and off his body due the high winds that swept through the area known as the “East Y” at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday as investigators combed through the crime scene. Yellow police tape blocked the entire area from public access and caused nearby motorists to slow to a near halt to catch a glimpse of the situation.

Deputy Police Chief John Allen, a spokesman for the Gallup Police Department, said someone at the Mustang Convenience Store called police about the fatal stabbing.

The deceased victim was identified this morning as 30-year-old Jesse James Pinto, of Pinehill.

Two other men were treated and released from the Gallup Indian Medical Center for less serious stab wounds.

Allen said the three men were drinking alcohol in a ditch behind the Coronado Motel when they were approached by two men. The men asked for their alcohol and they said they had nothing to give.

The pair then began to stab the three men who were able to flee as far as the empty lot between the Payday Loan and the Coronado Motel before Pinto succumbed to his injuries.

Allen said detectives continue to investigate the stabbing and have yet to release a description of the suspects in the case.

Anyone with information about the stabbing, is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (505) 722-6161. The organization is offering a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the case.